


in this moment

by driftinqawcy



Category: SEVENTEEN (Band)
Genre: Autumn, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Sad
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-30
Updated: 2020-09-30
Packaged: 2021-03-08 01:01:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,615
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26737063
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/driftinqawcy/pseuds/driftinqawcy
Summary: the comfort of the autumn wind replaces the emptiness in his heart.
Relationships: Hong Jisoo | Joshua/Xu Ming Hao | The8
Comments: 1
Kudos: 7





	in this moment

a chilly breeze wraps itself around the apartment from an open window. an orange hue surrounds itself against the wall from the sunlight hitting the colored curtain. sounds of the city life outside can be heard. cars, people, and animals all living their busy life. 

it’s quiet in the apartment. the sound of a small birman cat walking around against the wooden floor can be heard at this hour.

after a while, the soft cat had enough of the quietness. she goes to her owner's room, the small crack of the door opens. she hops onto the bed and steps on his stomach. no affect, she then licks his open palm and nuzzles her head into it. 

this results in him stirring and petting the cat. he opens his eyes and sighs. another quiet day, he thinks to himself. he looks to the other side of the bed. he’s not here. a small note is all that’s left. 

“i have to go to work. i love you. joshua”

a small pang hits his heart. he should be used to this by now. he should know he won’t be next to him in the mornings anymore. “i love you” why did it feel empty now? that’s right, he thinks. they weren’t who they used to be. years have passed now, things have changed. he’s changed.

looking at the light beams flickering on the empty ceiling he closes his eyes to will himself to not cry so early. not today minghao, not again, he says to himself. 

he sits up and grabs his brown wool cardigan. he carefully takes the cat to hold in his arms before going to start his day. “i’m not sad, okay mimi” he whispers to her. “today will be a good day” 

he slips on his slippers and makes his way to the kitchen. the apartment is chilly, many would close the window as soon as possible but he doesn’t mind. he enjoys the cool air. once he reaches the kitchen island, mimi hops off his arms and goes to play with one of her toys. 

minghao starts heating up water in a kettle for his coffee. normally he would drink tea but he felt as though he wanted to be stronger and more awake today. he doesn’t want to feel so tired anymore. 

it’s too quiet, he thinks. on his way to the bathroom, he puts a disc on the record player. he smiles to himself as a soft tune travels around the empty place.

he stands in front of the mirror. his fingers traveling down his neck, touching the fresh pink bruises he’s gotten, marks from the night before definitely not going away anytime soon. 

he used to be proud of them. used to love it when he got them. loved the feeling of showcasing he was joshua’s. 

now it just weakens his heart when he sees it. it didn’t feel as though joshua did it out of love but out of something to just give him pleasure. 

he shifts his eyes away from his covered neck to his face, tears evident in his eyes. the spark that was once there, the light everyone said he had, it dissolved farther away. he plain brown eyes are all he sees, dark and empty. 

empty. that seems to be the word that describes everything nowadays.

as he dries his face he hears the clinging of keys and rattling of the doorknob. he freezes in panic. 

who would it be? it can’t be joshua? he has worked, he wouldn’t come back, he’s never skipped a day. 

he feels his heart starting to beat faster as he contemplates what to do. he spots the toilet plunger in the corner of the bathroom and picks it up. 

he opens the bathroom door watching the front door slowly open. mimi seems to be scared as well as she slips in and goes between minghao’s legs. 

as each second passes minghao prepares himself to attack the person coming in.

the front door opens. a small bouquet of roses and the familiar dark brown sweater walks through the door. 

minghao lowers the plunger putting it aside. confusion now fills him replacing the panic. what is he doing here? 

“joshua?” he softly says out loud. joshua snaps his head up towards him and gives him a small smile. “weren’t you going to work?”

mimi escapes the bathroom going to nuzzle against joshua’s legs. joshua kneels down to pet her. 

joshua sighs and places the bouquet on a small wooden table. “there’s too much traffic and i’m too tired, i just said I'm sick and can’t make it today” joshua shrugs and goes to their bedroom, probably to change into something comfortable.

minghao hums and stays quiet, not sure about what to say. he feels conflicted. he should be happy his lover is home for the day but it feels unusual. he hasn’t had a day off in so long, both of them always apart for the majority of their day. now that he’s here and they’re together, what were they to do. his heart sinks a bit, noticing it shouldn’t be this way. he shouldn’t have to overthink how to spend the day with the one he loves, to think why he’s here with him now. it shouldn't feel this way even in the slightest.

“did you have breakfast?” joshua breaks the silence giving him a back hug. “seems like you just woke up”

minghao closes his eyes, feeling the warmth of joshua’s body against his. his arms wrapping around his waist and his head on his shoulder.

“i haven’t yet, i was just getting ready” 

“i’ll make breakfast for you then,” joshua gives him a soft kiss on his neck and steps away to go to the kitchen. minghao pouts as the warmth slips away. “your water in the kettle is ready,” joshua yells from the kitchen. 

minghao shakes himself not noticing he’s been standing in the same place in the small hallway this whole time. 

joshua has gotten his apron on, pancake ingredients nicely laid out on the kitchen island. the song on the record player still playing throughout the house. the wind coming from the window has moved the curtain away fully making the sunlight shine brightly against the apartment walls and floors, no lights needed to be turned on.

minghao can’t help but smile. he missed this, this image, this feeling. making his way to the kettle, which joshua took off the stove, he stands on his toes to get the coffee packets in one of the cabinets. 

“we should probably move the coffee,” joshua chuckles. he feels joshua come up behind him. one of his hands holding his waist and the other reaching past him, grabbing the coffee. he couldn’t help the small shade of pink that spread across his cheeks.

“thank you,” he whispers a small smile on his lips. joshua hums and goes back to making breakfast. 

wrapped in a warm blanket, mimi on his lap as he types away on the laptop in front of him. a movie softly playing on the tv. minghao feels content, only a small wariness coming up from time to time.

joshua made him breakfast and is now watching the movie on the couch next to him. throughout the day minghao felt happy to have him around but he couldn’t help but feel weird. an awkward silence fills the house from time to time. the constant need to fill up the silence with either music or the tv, evident. 

minghao sighs and leans back against the sofa. his work making him frustrated. 

“come here,” joshua says as he pauses the movie. minghao looks at him confused. joshua moves closer to him and closes the laptop, placing it on the coffee table in front of them. he opens his arms motioning for him to cuddle.

minghao giggles and does just that. he opens his blanket and places his head on joshua’s shoulders. joshua wraps his arms around minghao’s small figure, tugging on the blanket to make sure he’s warm. their legs intertwined. 

joshua unpauses the movie and gives minghao a small kiss on his forehead. minghao sighs in response. 

midway through the movie joshua fell asleep. his head resting on minghao’s. their bodies are still wrapped around each other. 

minghao looks up and examines joshua’s face. his pretty pink lips parted, eyes shut softly. he looks so peaceful. a small smile spread across his lips as he moved the soft brown hair from joshua’s face. 

in this moment, minghao felt okay. he felt happy. he felt content. he felt as though life was perfect right now. he felt as though the sadness from this morning and the emptiness from the days before were in the past. 

in this moment he couldn’t help but let a few tears fall down his face, seeing the one he loved sleeping peacefully in his arms.

in this moment he didn’t care about everything that happened. 

in this moment he couldn’t care less of the reason why his lover came through the door with a bouquet of roses. 

in this moment he couldn’t care less if the little note that was addressed to joshua and not him was in the bouquet.

in this moment he decided to brush past the small faded pink bruise on his lover's neck. the bruise he knows didn’t come from his own lips.

in this moment he decided to let go of the fact that his lover was so close to him, due to guilt.

in this moment he decided to lie to himself thinking everything is alright.

because when this moment passes, everything will fall apart.


End file.
